Taking first place in four out of five races and one second place ensured the overall victory for the Italian crew at the MBA's Cup, the regatta organized by the SDA Bocconi Sailing Club in collaboration with the Italian Yacht Club. This year, for the first time, the team of the event organizers, SDA Bocconi, won the cup, taking it from last year's champions, the Americans of Tuck Business School. Second place went to the Mexican team from Ipade Business School, participating in the event for the first time, with third going to the Spanish team from Istituto De Empresa.
This year, the event, which has graced the waters of Santa Margherita Ligure for the last five years, saw the participation of teams from nine countries (the U.K., Spain, the U.S., the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Greece and Italy), while crew members represented a wide range of nations throughout the world (including the U.S., the Netherlands, the U.K., and Germany, just to name a few) - all told, more than 300 students, alumni and teachers. Friday and Saturday, in the harbor at Santa Margherita Ligure, 33 10-meter single-handed boats set sail, each with an 8-member crew. Of particular note were the crew from the London Business School, the "Pink Ladies" - all women, all dressed in pink - and the Insead crew, which was made up of 8 students of 8 different nationalities (representing Italy, Greece, Denmark, Germany, France, the U.K., Spain and Portugal).
"It was a fantastic experience," said Stefano Crosta, the SDA Bocconi skipper. "The outcome was the result of hard work, study and calculations, as well as of the close bond that was created, first on land and then at sea. But we are also very happy about how the whole event went." Indeed, the entire organization of the event was handled by SDA Bocconi students, who pass the baton each year to the next Sailing Club team. The Sailing Club team saw to everything, from renting the boats and organizing the races to the convention and the closing ceremonies at Cervara di Portofino.
The first edition of the MBA's Cup was held in 2004, but it all started in 2000 when, in the words of Andrea Gasparri, Managing Director for SDA Bocconi, "a group of students came to me to ask for help in participating in a regatta being organized by Cranfield University on the Isle of Wight. I told them no, unless they were willing to carry out a project that involved the whole school and not just one group of students. Two weeks later, they came back to me having founded the Sailing Club." Victory at the Isle of Wight came in 2003, at which time, in the spirit of the America's Cup, the school took the honor, and the responsibility, of the cup and of organizing the subsequent regattas.
"Sailing a boat is like running a business," says Andrea Gasparri. "You need strategy and knowledge, as well as a respect for rules, leadership skills, and a whole lot of imagination, all qualities that are taught to students in master's degree programs."
Final standings:
SDA Bocconi School of Management - Italy
Ipade Business School - Mexico
IE - Spain
Warwick Business School - U.K.
RSM - Erasmus University - Netherlands
London Business School - U.K.
Insead - France
Tuck Business School - USA
Columbia Business School - USA
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management - Germany
Sauder School of Business - Canada
Kellogg School of Management - USA
Wharton Business School - USA
Iese Business Club - Spain
Duke University - Fuqua - USA
NYU Stern - USA
Harvard Business School - USA
